She Braids Horse & Dog Hair Jewelry

She Braids Horse & Dog Hair Jewelry 34-2-9 Every time Kate Haisch enters a show ring, she wears a bracelet that got her into competing professionally on the hunter/jumper circuit. The unusual bracelet quickly caught the attention of other horse lovers, and for the past five years Haisch has been making custom horsehair bracelets for people across the U.S. and overseas. More recently, she started making dog-hair bracelets for dog lovers. "It's a way to remember the amazing horses I've known through the years," Haisch says of several bracelets she has in her own collection. She became interested in leatherwork while in high school. During her 10 years on the hunter/jumper circuit, she continued to work with leather and came up with her own braiding style mixing leather and horse hair, adding beads and sterling charms such as horseshoes. Most of the bracelets she sells to customers are all horsehair. "I prefer tail hair because it is significantly stronger than mane hair," Haisch says. She asks customers who want custom bracelets to send her their wrist measurement and enough 12 to 15-in. long hair to equal the diameter of a pencil. She cleans the hair, braids it and adds the sterling charm. She adjusts the end fittings and sends the bracelet in a leather box. "I know of kids who wear them 24/7 and have been wearing them for over five years," Haisch says. Haisch uses horse hair for other items: necklaces, key chains, decorative pieces and fly whisks using the whole tail of deceased horses. Haisch says her dog hair bracelets require two pencil diameters of hair 8 to 12 in. long. If the hair is shorter, Haisch modifies the design with more leather or additional beads or charms. "As dog hair is a finer, more delicate hair than horse hair, these bracelets should be handled with care," Haisch says. She sells both dog and horse hair bracelets through her website starting at $75. She also does custom leatherwork and blanket repair with a polymer product. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Kate's Equine, 18 Paradise Cove, Timberlake, N.C. 27583 (ph 434 429-0251; www.katesequine.com).

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